SEPT 13-20, 2024, New York City: The Beacon of Hope Book Tour Resumes!
The relaunch of my Book Tour is underway and it’s been altogether amazing!
From the enthusiasm of my audiences to the generosity of my hosts and event moderators to the glorious September weather, it’s been wonderful to be back in New York City’s embrace — the place I lived for 18 years, started my career, met my husband, and continue to call “home” though I haven’t lived here for over 20 years.
There are two immediate notable differences between the summer launch tour for Crossing the Line and the current Beacon of Hope Book Tour. Both positive.
The first is that all the event arranging, panel composing, book ordering, talk planning, etc., is no longer mine alone. I had lots of help for the first tour, too. The Book Tour Dream Team that emerged in support of the mission to build awareness around what might be the most crucial issue of our age — immigration — scouted up event locations, set dates, secured sponsors, found me places to hang my head, drove me around, or lent me cars. It was awesome to be able to just show up, set up, and go. But the shaping of each event fell to me.
Not so in New York!
Here I had my first experience of my hosts also being panel creators and conversation moderators. And though it jostled me at first, defying my expectations based on my launch tour experience, it only took minutes to settle into the new format — and I loved it!
What a treat to be asked about the issues my book holds up for scrutiny; to engage with others in seeking solutions to the seemingly intractable mess we now face; and to feel every writer’s greatest dream come true: that folks have read your work, learned from it, been moved and maybe even changed by it.
This new reality put an updated spin on every New York-area event, giving me interesting insights into how people have received and are interacting with my storytelling and content.
The mission has transformed. I’m not just promoting my book to attract readers anymore, though I’m still doing some of that.
Rather, and this is the second big difference between this tour and the previous one: people are showing up to talks having read the book and they want to get straight to the answers, leading to some amazing creative brainstorming. In short… The solutions lie with us. We need look no further than the examples of the folks I wrote about and am now speaking and presenting with. Keep reading to meet and learn about them…
September 13 & 14, 2024:
The Migrant Center, Church of St. Francis Assisi
The official kick off of the Beacon of Hope Book Tour took place on September 17 at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus. But I was blessed with not one but two opportunities to warm up my speaking voice and test my revised presentation patter at two pot-luck gatherings at the Migrant Center at the Church of St. Francis Assisi.
I was sorry to miss Father Julian, who is currently away on sabbatical. But thanks to the generosity, enthusiasm, and trusty organizational acumen of Christine Meyer, I was able to interact with roughly 30 of the Migrant Center’s dedicated cadre of volunteers who aid newcomers in completing paperwork for asylum claims and work permits. They keep an active list of work opportunities for those who have received work authorization and are looking for jobs. They help folks open bank accounts so they can be paid. And every interaction is made with grace and in the spirit of welcome, which means, in their own words:
“That we are careful to treat each person with dignity and respect and that we don't talk down to anyone.”
This would come to be a theme I would encounter all over New York as I went from presenting to serving and learning alongside the New York City counterparts of the people and efforts you will read about in Crossing the Line.
I’m so grateful to Migrant Center volunteer Ilana Wallach whose message to the host of the forthcoming event at Congregation Rodeph Sholom, Annette Orenstein, made its way back to me:
“I highly recommend Sarah Towle’s book Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands. Even if you already know a lot about the situation at the border, I promise you will learn something and find inspiration.”
A special shout-out to Johnny, the hospitality chair at the Migrant Center, who organized the amazing potluck contributions. Thanks to all who brought yummy items to share — you really fed me well! And thanks to one and all for the wonderful questions!
Blessings to everyone for all you do to make the world a kinder place. I’m looking forward to volunteering with you when I’m next back in New York.
September 17, 2024:
Fordham University, Lincoln Center
Then came the official New York City launch event of phase II of the Beacon of Hope Book Tour for Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands, sponsored by the Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) and organized in collaboration with Professors Karina Hogan, Casey Kasten, Marciana Popescu, and Barat Ellman.
Professor Hogan, Associate Professor of Theology (Biblical Studies), Jewish Studies and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies in Theology, had her students read portions of the book in advance. I was thrilled to receive this feedback:
“The students really loved your book…they are happy someone is telling the stories of actual asylum seekers because they feel that they are misrepresented and dehumanized by the media.”
Here are some of the insightful questions the students posed…
How do you reach the people who have opposing views regarding immigration?
How can we counteract the harmful rhetoric of the Trump campaign?
How can our government be held accountable for immigration-related human rights violations in a system filled with disinformation and an intentional lack of communication across departments at all levels?
Why is ICE incentivized to hold children and deport adults? What does this say about the historical significance of migrant children within the United States?
The three individuals in Chapter 8 are very strong and hopeful despite having gone through very challenging situations. Are most refugees at the border similarly positive and hopeful, or are they a minority? And how do the more hopeful retain their hope when the reality is so bad?
How do volunteers and community organizers protect themselves from individuals in positions of power who abuse their role within the immigration process?
Amazing right?
Makes you hopeful for the future of our nation when you encounter such thoughtful, inquisitive young minds as these!!!
September 18, 2024:
POWERHOUSE @ IC, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
POWERHOUSE @ IC (Industry City) in Brooklyn, New York, is a quintessentially charismatic bookstore. I was honored to be joined there by Samah Sisay, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights with whom I worked as part of the Cameroon Advocacy Network, and a lucky dozen (or so) colleagues and friends. It was an intimate and very lovely affair.
Samah and I took on the false narrative broadcast ad infinitum by one presidential campaign, parroted ad nauseum by the mass media, and seldom pushed back against by the other presidential campaign, in particular, and political party, in general.
I speak of the wrongful coupling of asylum-seeking and illegality. The two have been conflated. And wrongly.
Asylum is never illegal. We must state that often and over and over again. We must uncouple these two concepts so that we can do better at our borders.
Also wrongfully conflated are security and migration. And this is very dangerous. It presupposes without question that folks moving north in search of safety are a threat. They are not. They are being scapegoated. This is fearmongering. And it’s the only campaign plank one party has. That’s it. Their intent: to distract us from the real issues facing the nation and the world.
It was so uplifting to have Samah on stage with me, sharing the depth of her knowledge about human rights and how the many-headed hydra that is our Border Industrial Complex flouts those rights every day. We all benefited from her first-hand understanding of the immigration system garnered through her and her family’s fascinating and multi-faceted immigration story. I’ve learned so much, what’s more, working with her to expose ICE’s culture of impunity. Thank you, Samah!
Shout outs to Margaret Cargioli of Immigration Defenders, Melissa Rubin, and Joshua Rubin of Witness at the Border for joining Samah and me. Likewise to Yvette and Tony Aarons, Seth Magalener and Karie Youngdahl, Janice Young, my dear James Hertling, who flew in from London to be with me for the tour re-launch, and sweet Genoveva Eguiguren (one of my many second daughters) and her new beau Romain. Thank you all for making the night truly special.
Special thanks, too, to Will Meyer of the Powerhouse Events Team.
*If I’m forgetting anyone who was there, please DM me!
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024:
RODEPH SHOLOM
Have you ever had an experience so memorable that you wish you could relive it, rewatch it, or redo it? For me, this night was one of them.
What an honor to share the stage at such an elegant setting as Congregation Rodeph Sholom. It was an evening of celebration, lifting up the people who are providing the real answers to the so-called “crisis” in migration: the ordinary people expressing extraordinary acts of kindness every day.
In the generous hands of our esteemed moderator, Annette Orenstein, JB Abdul-Majid, Candice Braun, and Ilze Thielmann told the gathered crowd of their efforts to offer welcome when Governor Greg Abbott of Texas started trafficking newcomers to New York City and Mayor Eric Adams took Abbott’s bait, refusing to respond with dignity. With Adama Bah and Power Malu there in spirit, we learned of the interwoven first responses of individuals that quickly evolved into the collaborative role-sharing of such organizations as Team TLC NYC, the ROCC, Metro Church, Afrikana, Artists Athletes Activists, the Migrant Center (mentioned above), the Little Shop of Kindness, and folks willing to wage a war of welcome in the face of the bad behavior on the part of our elected officials.
Never mind the cops. These people are New York’s Finest — the doppelgängers of the people and organizations whose efforts you will read in the pages of Crossing the Line. These are New York’s Dignity Village Collaborative, for example. It was such a privilege to be considered worthy of their company!
Thank you Rodeph Sholom for the glorious space. Thank you Christine Meyer for connecting me with Annette Orenstein. Thank you Annette for your vision and good heart. Please, can we do again? But record it this time!
SEPTEMBER 20, 2024:
LITTLE SHOP OF KINDNESS
This was a day not of presenting, but of service and learning. And I spent it as a volunteer at the Little Shop of Kindness and I LOVED it!
Nothing like hanging out with the tribe! Such a wonderful mission, energy, and space.
Everyone left smiling, especially me!
Thank you, Ilze Thielmann, Sophie Hughes, Val Coleman, Andrea Degeorge, and all the other wonderful volunteers and shoppers at the Little Shop of Kindness.
Readers: If you have clothing and other items to donate, take them to 1745 1st Ave, Third Floor, New York, NY 10128.
To volunteer, kindly sign up at the Little Shop’s website.
New York City was just like I pictured it: with friends, old and new, warm gatherings and fruitful conversations, and quite a few skyscrapers, too. The weather was equally glorious, as were the comments:
“Sarah’s book is a must-read if you care about this country. That sums it up for me.” — Charlene Frank
“Her book is a real eye-opener…She not only looks at the mess in front of her, she looks at the details behind the obvious. Her book can open your eyes. Thank you, Sarah. You are an incredible inspiration.” — Rachna Daryanani
“Wonderful meeting, Sarah, and thank you for your remarkable work and book! Let’s coordinate a time to do this for Scouting America in NYC.” — Antonio del Rosario
“Thank YOU for writing the amazing book and sharing your experience with us :).” — Halyna Lemekh, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice and Coordinator of the Forum on Migration, St. Francis College, NY
